Best gorilla trekking parks: As mentioned above, there are only four national parks in the world where you can trek mountain gorillas from and these include Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Virunga National Park and Volcanoes National Park.

Bwindi and Mgahinga are found in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park is found in Rwanda whereas Virunga National Park is found in DRC Congo. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park share the same area. They are all found in the Virunga Conservation Area, a perimeter that shelters the eight Virunga Mountains. These mountains include Mount Bisoke, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Muhabura, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Mikeno, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Gahinga and Mount Nyamuragira. In these mountains are mountain gorillas.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is however isolated from the rest and you have to drive for a couple of kilometers to access it. Most of Uganda’s mountain gorillas are found in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest; making it the best gorilla trekking park to see gorillas in Africa and the world at large. As mentioned before, Bwindi offers an affordable and quality gorilla treks in Africa. It is a perfect place for luxury gorilla treks too. It is the only park that accompanies all classes of gorilla safari clients, right from shoe-string to super luxury gorilla holidays.

Next to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park; Also known as Parc Nationale Des Volcanes (PNV). PNV is the most accessible of all the gorilla parks as it is just 2 hours away from Kigali, Rwanda’s Capital City – a common place of entry for tourists. Virunga National Park in Congo is a great place to see mountain gorillas but for years the insecurity in the park has scared so many clients away. If Virunga had good security, it would actually be second to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The best place for trekking lowland gorillas in East Africa is Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Bukavu, DRC Congo.

Every client who wishes to engage in gorilla treks has to first purchase a gorilla trekking permit before they are granted access to the gorillas. These documents are purchased from Uganda Wildlife Authority headquarters in Kampala, Rwanda Development Board in Rwanda and Virunga Foundation in DRC Congo. You can purchase gorilla permits through a tours and travel operator agency like us. Please note that we are simply facilitators in this process and all the governing body rules and regulations regarding gorilla permits stand in place.

Gorilla permits cost $1500 in Rwanda, $700 in Uganda and $400 in DRC Congo. Rwanda gorilla permits cost $1050 in the low season when visiting all the other Rwanda national parks (Nyungwe Forest National Park – a place to trek Rwandan chimpanzees in Rwanda and Akagera National Park – the only Savannah wildlife national park in Rwanda perfect for game viewing experiences). Uganda has a gorilla habituation experience that entitles clients to four hours around gorillas instead of the normal one. Gorilla habituation permits cost $1500 each. Rwanda has a special experience where a client can book out an entire gorilla family for himself and 3 other travelers at 15,000 USD.

However, these are just ordinary prices for gorilla tours. Gorilla photography and Gorilla filming have separate prices. Clients are not allowed to carry heavy photography or filming equipment to the forests/jungles/mountains under the ordinary gorilla permit prices. They’ll have to pay the respective filming and photography charges irrespective of the destination that they are in. If you need convenience and do not want to travel for long, you can book gorilla tracking in Rwanda as Volcanoes National Park is just 2 hours away from Kigali. If you need a budget gorilla tour experience or a much more affordable luxury gorilla safari experience, Uganda and Congo might be great destinations for you.